Create a custom VPC with private and public subnets on AWS

AWS
3 Comments

In my free time I’ve been working through the AWS Certified Solutions Architect by Ryan Kroonenburg from ACloud.guru. Ryan really drives home the importance of knowing how to create a custom VPC within AWS as part of the exam. For me I learn best by not only doing it but writing it down.

So if for nothing else but my own benefit, this post is going to show step by step how to create a custom VPC in AWS without using the AWS wizard.

Read More “Create a custom VPC with private and public subnets on AWS”

Fix VMware VCSA /storage/log filesystem out of disk space

VMware
14 Comments

This morning I ran into an issue where users were reporting the production VCSA 6.0 was not allowing them to connect into the web or thick client. Another administrator rebooted the VCSA which seemed to work only briefly. I then logged into the VCSA web management (https://<VCENTER_IP>:5480) and noticed the following health status right away:

The /storage/log filesystem is out of disk space or inodes

vcsa /storage/log full

Read More “Fix VMware VCSA /storage/log filesystem out of disk space”

How to enable SSH auto login on Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X

Home Lab
5 Comments

edgerouter ssh key auto login

SSH key authentication not only provides a more convenient way to logging into your EdgeRouter X, but is also more secure because the private key replaces the need of a password and thus is typically more difficult to brute force.

The below steps will show how to generate a SSH key, add it to the router, and then disable password authentication so that only the key-pair can be used to login.

Read More “How to enable SSH auto login on Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X”

How to perform Instant File Recovery using NAKIVO Backup

Home Lab
0 Comments

NAKIVO Backup has been a great addition in my home lab and just a few months ago I wrote about my first impressions of NAKIVO Backup. Now I have a few posts lined up to highlight some individual features of NAKIVO Backup, starting with Instant File Recovery.

If you haven’t already guessed it, Instant File Recovery allows you to recover files or folders directly from a previous backup job. This is a great alternative to performing a full restore of a VM when all you might need is a single or even a couple of files and/or folders.

Read More “How to perform Instant File Recovery using NAKIVO Backup”

Use Pi-Hole to block ads on all devices in your network

Home Lab
9 Comments

Sure ad blockers have been around for a long while now, but those are typically only available for your web browsers and not ever device allows you to install them such as cell phones, media players, smart TV’s, etc. I came across a neat project that allows you to block web ads on every device in your network, called Pi-Hole.

In a nutshell Pi-Hole was developed to run on a Raspberry Pi, but will run on most any Debian based distro, and will act as a DNS server to which you point your devices or router to use as the DNS server so that all requests are filtered through Pi-Hole. Pi-Hole then blocks 100’s of thousands ad domains. All without having to use a single browser extension and for FREE!

Read More “Use Pi-Hole to block ads on all devices in your network”

Upgrade vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 to 6.5

VMware
27 Comments

VMware vSphere 6.5 has been released as general available and earlier this week I posted about Installing VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 as a new install, this post will walk through upgrading an existing vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 to 6.5!

Similar to a fresh VCSA 6.5 install, the VCSA 6.5 upgrade is also broken up into two stages. The first stage is deploying a new vCenter Server Appliance and the second stage is copying data from the 6.0 VCSA to the newly deployed 6.5 VCSA.

Read More “Upgrade vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 to 6.5”

Installing VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5

VMware
2 Comments

VMware has announced that VMware vSphere 6.5 has gone general available this week. Now installing VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 (VCSA) is even easier as the requirement for the client integration plugin has been removed and now the VCSA appliance is delivered via an ISO image with an installation wizard that’s been broken up into two stages.

The VCSA 6.5 ISO offers two types of installation methods, CLI and GUI install – both availalbe for Windows, Mac and Linux machines. In this guide I’ll walk through the steps of installing VCSA 6.5 using the Windows GUI install.

Read More “Installing VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5”

Who wants to win a sweet home lab?

Other
0 Comments

Turbonomic TurboStack homelab

I’m pretty darn happy with my current home lab, but certainly wouldn’t mind winning the sweet home lab Turbonomic is giving away for FREE!

The Turbonomic TurboStack home lab giveaway consists of an Intel NUC6i5SYK NUC with an Intel Core i5-6260U, 16GB total RAM using HyperX DDR4 memory. For storage the TurboStack home lab includes a Synology DS916+ NAS along with a Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD and two WD 1TB 7200 RPM SATA drives. In addition, a Cisco SG300 10-Port Gigabit Managed Switch – they even give you three Ethernet cables!

Read More “Who wants to win a sweet home lab?”